Chapter 118: Who Is Playing the Ghost?

Jiang Yao stepped onto the balcony and carefully searched it once more. After making sure no one was there, she closed the window again.

Still shaken, she turned around—only to discover that a sheet of paper had somehow appeared on the table, which had been empty moments ago.

Jiang Yao walked over and picked it up. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

There were only four words on the paper.

“Long time no see.”

Jiang Yao recognized the handwriting.

Zeng Qiwen’s handwriting!

Impossible. Zeng Qiwen was dead. She had watched him die with her own eyes!

“Who is it? Come out!”

Jiang Yao crumpled the paper into a ball and stamped on it viciously. Facing the empty room, she shouted, “Stop pretending to be some ghost! I’m not afraid of you. Come out!”

The only response was the silent air—

and the cold wind howling through the window.

Cold wind?

Jiang Yao shuddered violently and turned toward the balcony once more.

The instant she looked over, her face went as white as paper.

The window she had just closed was open again. She had no idea when—or by whom—it had been opened.

“Who is it? Who the hell is it?” Summoning her courage, Jiang Yao ran to the window again and slammed it shut. “Get out here!”

The moment the words left her mouth, a rustling sound of footsteps came from behind.

Jiang Yao heard it clearly.

Every hair on her body stood on end, and cold sweat streamed down her back.

Before she could turn around, a sharp pain suddenly struck her head.

Her vision went black, and her entire body crumpled limply to the floor...

...

The next morning.

Jiang Yao slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbing terribly.

Rubbing her temples, she tried to recall what had happened the night before.

Everything appeared normal. She was lying in her own bedroom, and she could not tell whether the events of the previous night had truly happened or had merely been a dream.

She slipped on her slippers and went to the living room, staring blankly at the balcony window that had repeatedly been opened the night before.

The window was shut tightly, without the slightest sign that anyone had opened it.

There was not a trace anywhere in the house to suggest that an outsider had entered.

Suddenly seeming to remember something, Jiang Yao began frantically searching for the note she had crumpled into a ball.

Nothing. It was nowhere to be found.

Somewhat dispirited, Jiang Yao sank to the floor.

Could she have been hallucinating? Had she dreamed it all?

And yet, the sensation had been so real.

That terrifying, spine-chilling sensation.

“Jiang Yao, could there really be something wrong with your brain?”

Jiang Yao did not go to work that day.

She took the day off and went to the hospital.

The events of the previous night had been so bizarre that even if she told someone else about them, no one would believe her.

After undergoing a series of examinations at the hospital, Jiang Yao handed the scans to the doctor.

The doctor frowned and studied them carefully for a long while.

“Doctor, is there a problem?”

“Miss Jiang, have you been feeling unwell lately?”

“I have.” Jiang Yao sighed and began telling the doctor what had happened the previous night.

She described the whole story with great animation, waving her arms and acting out the events at length. When she finally looked back at the doctor, she realized that the doctor’s mouth was hanging wide open.

“Was it too unbelievable? I find it hard to believe myself. Just think of it as a dream.”

“No.” The doctor firmly dismissed the idea. “If you really experienced what you described, then it certainly deserves attention. Did you come here alone today?”

“Yes.” Jiang Yao sensed that something was wrong. “If there’s a problem, just tell me directly.”

The doctor hesitated, then pointed to Jiang Yao’s scans. “I saw a shadow on them that shouldn’t be there...”

Jiang Yao walked out of the hospital holding her scans.

The doctor’s words still echoed in her ears.

“Is it something like a brain tumor?”

“More or less, though its location is rather difficult.”

“Can it be operated on?”

“Given its current location, surgery would be quite challenging. It isn’t entirely impossible, but even if the operation were performed by the most experienced surgeon, the probability of success would be only about five percent.”

“And if the surgery fails? Would I... would I die?”

The doctor did not answer, but Jiang Yao already knew the answer.

Life was such a strange thing—so strange that one day, without warning, the noose of death could suddenly tighten around her throat.

“So for now, I recommend conservative treatment. We’ll control it with medication first, and if the medication proves ineffective, we can consider surgery.”

“Then... if I control it with medication, how much time do I have?”

The doctor looked troubled. “That varies from person to person. Some patients deteriorate rapidly despite taking medication, while others respond very well to it. Living for another three to five years is not out of the question.”

Three to five years...

Jiang Yao found it deeply ironic.

Five years from now, she would only be thirty-one...

“I still recommend that you try to relax and get plenty of rest. That will also help your condition.”

The final words sounded like a dose of consolation, but they were nothing more than that.

After being prescribed a large quantity of medication, Jiang Yao wandered somewhat dazedly through the hospital corridor, clutching her test results.

The sunlight was beautiful that day.

Suddenly, Jiang Yao felt an overwhelming urge to visit Mirror Lake.

A person as dazed as she was approached from the opposite direction.

Two people who had both lost their souls collided just like that.

“Ow!”

They simultaneously raised their hands and looked at each other.

“Ye Yiyi!”

Ye Yiyi rubbed the spot on her head that had been hit. “Ah... Jiang Yao, what are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that!” Jiang Yao’s gaze drifted to the medicine bag in Ye Yiyi’s hand. “Are you sick?”

Ye Yiyi hurriedly hid the bag behind her back. “No, I’m not. None of your business. What about you... are you sick?”

Jiang Yao quickly hid her own things behind her back as well. “No, I’m not. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

Ye Yiyi nodded. “I’m leaving.”

Jiang Yao watched her walk away and suddenly felt an ache in her heart.

“Yiyi,” she called softly.

Ye Yiyi stopped. “What?”

“I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”

“Hmm...” Ye Yiyi pretended to think. “I’m going to eat at the barbecue restaurant downstairs. If you’re willing to pay, you can come along.”

They chose the most secluded private room in the barbecue restaurant downstairs.

The meat sizzled over the charcoal fire, its enticing aroma filling the entire room.

Jiang Yao and Ye Yiyi sat facing each other, yet neither of them had the appetite to pick up a single piece.

“Ye Yiyi, where exactly does it hurt?”

Ye Yiyi lowered her head. “Everywhere. But it hurts most here.”

She pointed to her chest, and her eyes reddened slightly.

“Did Luo Yixian bully you?”

“Don’t ask, Yao.”

She had called her Yao again.

“Are you hiding something?”

Her thoughts suddenly exposed, Ye Yiyi’s tears fell with a soft patter.

“Yao, don’t ask me anything. I just want to have a proper meal with you.”